Conventional glass melting and refining furnaces of the non-rotary type are found in the general shape of a rectangular prism having a melting zone and a fining zone. The furnaces are heated by a multiplicity of air/fuel burners symmetrically placed on either side of, and above, the path of the molten glass, which flows from the melting zone to the fining zone. Since these furnaces are, barring some malfunction, usually operated continuously, a pool of molten glass is always present and glass batch, i.e., the solid raw materials used to produce the glass, is added to the melt when the level drops below a selected point. Part of the added solid batch melts raising the level of the molten glass to that desired while the remaining solids, having a lower specific gravity than the melt, float on the surface forming a distinct layer. Both proceed downstream into the fining zone towards the discharge end of the furnace with the solids layer gradually melting. The layer of solid batch in the fining zone acts as an insulator adversely affecting the heat transfer characteristics between the molten glass and the high temperature atmosphere above the melt. This of course, detracts from the thermal efficiency of the process, but this floating layer of solid particles also inhibits the homogenization of the glass melt in the fining zone, prevents occluded gases from being released, and is responsible for the particulates exiting the fining zone with the melt, thus reducing the quality of the product. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the production rate (or pull rate) is limited by the inability of the refining technique to facilitate removal of the occluded gases or particulates in the fining zone. Simply, the melt is required to remain in the furnace for a longer period of time until acceptable removal of gases and particulates is achieved.